A Return to Normalcy

{Being wheeled around by the mascot}

     Since I received lots of raised eyebrows and questions from friends/family because of my last post and a little 'short fuse' I  had addressed, I feel I need to say we are good, even might go out on a limb and say great. It was less than perfect in the beginning but as with anything, a learning curve is involved, (how to shower, get dressed, sleep etc)... but we have started to get the hang of it. Shaun has been doing great, splitting his time between breaking down film, rehabbing and elevating his leg. He has had minimal to zero pain, only a little pressure when he gets up and the blood rushes to his leg but other than the cast being heavy and inconvenient, it has been all good. And as for me, I have become friends with the wheel chair and no longer threaten to step on it, curse at it or accuse it of having a 'wanky wheel'. Another small inconvenience of Shaun's injury is that his salsa dancing will take a hit. Me on the other hand, I may have lost my partner, but even that won't keep me away. Shaun's teammates film the lessons so I can show him so he at least doesn't fall too far behind, they are all too sweet. The club has been amazing and the support Shaun has received from strangers has been eye opening, even going as far as giving him candies, wine, rolling his wheel chair and chanting his name through out the game. (Funny enough though, the same people who give him candy and wine are also the ones who seem to worry about him gaining weight due to his immobility). Speaking of the game, Shaun seemed to be a magnet for any errant pass in the vicinity as he had to use ninja-like reflexes in his wheelchair to avoid getting hit on the bench (twice). I nearly had a heart attack at first then I became a little annoyed (here comes that short fuse I spoke about) since both the trainer and the Dr. sitting next to him, ducked. Have no fear, Shaun was good and I gave the Dr. and trainer  the 'I will cut your throat' sign from across the court...think they got the point. We have a friend coming to visit for a few days and I know Shaun is looking forward to shooting the breeze with someone other than me...and I sure am happy to be relieved of that duty, because there is only so much basketball and college football this girl can handle...

Few Days Post Surgery

{A photo our photographer/friend Romain Robini made for the team website}

   
     It still seems weird to us both that not only did Shaun rupture his achilles only 2 days ago, but he has already had the surgery to repair it. It all happened so fast and as I mentioned in the last post, it is probably for the best because sometimes the waiting game can take it's toll. I am happy to report that as of now, Shaun is in good spirits with no pain, actually singing along to a commercial all the while surfing the internet. The only semi-snag we hit was I was awoken last night to Shaun yelling to me from the other room (he is sleeping on the l-shaped couch because it helps keep his leg elevated) saying he was sick. Guess the morphine based meds were a bit too strong for him so since then, we have cut back but other than that, Shaun has been great and we don't have too much to complain about. Shaun even went to practice tonight in his new wheel chair to 'hang out' and is going to break down film for the team to stay involved on a daily basis. Me on the other hand, I seem to have picked up a 'short fuse' somewhere these past few days. Fortunately for Shaun, it only rears it's ugly head when I am out running errands.  I am happy as can be at the house, but when I get on that road, my head starts spinning and fire comes from my eyes. To those who think it has something to do with Shaun's injury, maybe you're right. But I think it is more the fact that I have had maybe 6 hours of sleep in the last 3 nights, which I guess is due to Shaun's injury but I have these days with the French and driving, it just seemed to be the 'Perfect Storm"today. Glad to report though, I got it all out of my system and I am good to face another day. So I would like to say a few mea culpas....

1.  To the lady in the green Renault Clio who spent more time texting than driving-I am sorry I gave you the 1 finger salute as I drove around you. I should of been more patient and just sat behind you while you stared down at your phone and in turn, I missed green light after green light because you were 'LOL-ing' and 'LMFAO-ing'
2. To the person in the pint size car trying to parallel park in a parking spot large enough to fit a boat- I am sorry I told you to 'get a clue' and 'learn how to drive' and when you went to say something back to me and I am very sorry I told you that 'I would f*#@ you up'. Since you were a man, I clearly would not have 'f*#@ed you up' but at that time, I was convinced I could.
3. To the steering wheel-I am sorry I punched you continuously, beeped your horn, twisted you in hopes of hurting you and spewed profanities at you. It was not your fault I drove all the way to the pharmacy with out the proper papers needed..in traffic. You were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
4. To the new wheel chair- I am sorry for kicking you and comparing you to an old shopping cart with wanky wheels. I know you are new (I took the plastic off you myself) but for some reason, you seem to have a mind of your own in which direction you want to go, especially when my hands are full.
5. And lastly, to the car trunk and the wheel chair (again)- I am sorry I cursed at you both and kicked you (both) since you, trunk, appeared to be able to fit something bigger than a briefcase inside you. Also, I am sorry to the wheel chair for throwing you on the ground outside of the car and thinking about stepping on you to get you to collapse more. That was not nice and I should not have done that.

A Cruel Ending...

{Photo by Romain Robini...and no, Shaun was not jumping off his knee, he came all the way from the floor}

     Wheww.... well, we have had a whirlwind of a last two days, starting on Friday night. The team had a home game so their focus was avenging their first loss of the season last weekend. While I am happy to say they did that, I am not happy to say that what happened 20 seconds from the end of the game changed our weekend drastically, or the next 4-6 months for that matter. Shaun, as with all the players, had a great game and they were looking to close the game out when with 20 seconds to go, he collapsed in a heap on the floor mostly untouched. Shaun being Shaun, he tried to get back up and walk but clearly something was wrong. In his head, he knew it.... He had snapped his achilles tendon. Later, he would say it was not painful, just a weird feeling, like someone had kicked him from behind. But there was no one behind him. Terrible turn of events for a team that has unreal potential and for Shaun who is having a great start to the season..finished with 26 on Friday and is shooting lights out. The last 20 seconds seemed like 15 minutes as I searched for an answer since Shaun was whisked back into the locker room. When I saw one of the players call me over during the the game, I knew it wasn't good but never thought it was as serious as this. But when I saw Shaun's face, I knew. No words were needed, just an understanding. The rest of the evening was a blur as we spoke to the sponsors and speculated as to what his injury was (we didn't have confirmation until saturday afternoon). In the meantime, we learned that the best facility/surgeon for achilles sports injuries was in Monaco and scheduled a consultation for saturday afternoon.
Our consultation in Monaco went well. It was what we thought (torn achilles) and they could schedule surgery to repair the tendon right then. Fortunate in that he hadn't eaten nor drank anything since the night before, Shaun was prepped for surgery and whisked away..almost before we could comprehend what was happening. In hindsight, that was for the better. Our friends/teammates Lesly and his wife Marina helped us through the paperwork, the tricky translation, kept me occupied during the surgery and stayed with us from noon to 9 pm. They were life savers. I could only hope that we can help others at some point to return the favor of all the people who have helped us along the way. The facility was overlooking the harbor in Monaco which rivaled many upscale hotels. The surgeon, anesthesiologist and nurses all were great, total wise-asses like us so we knew we were in good hands. They joked after the surgery that Shaun still had 10 fingers and 10 toes and they needed to change his name to Britney since they performed a sex change. But in all seriousness, everything went great. They even took a camera pic of the surgery when his leg was open to show us after. Although he had the choice to stay, we returned home to a new life ahead of Shaun being bed-ridden for the next 3 weeks, not being able to walk for 6 weeks and out of basketball for 4-6 months. It sucks but those are the facts. Being a day in, I am happy to say that Shaun has been completely pain-free and he has adapted to life of being 'waited on' nicely...almost too nicely and too quickly though I might add. He has a long road to recovery but if there is anyone that is capable, it is Shaun. It sure is a character tester but Shaun has kept his cool demeanor and smile all through-out so with fear of sounding like a 'lifetime' movie quote, 'he is ready for the challenge'. But if there was a silver lining to all this, it is the unbelievable support we have received from all the players. We had multiple offers to go with us to Monaco and many more offered food and stopped by the house. This team has some special chemistry, I tell ya', something that doesn't come around often.

{Being prepped}

{One last pic before sending him off}

{Lesly waiting and enjoying the view}

{Post surgery, enjoying some much needed KFC}

{View overlooking the port of Monaco}

Halloween party 2012

(Shaun and I as vampires)

     I have to say, I am very impressed with this team, and I'm not talking about on the court. Every single player dressed up last night at our party and put some major thought into their costumes. We had a Black Jesus (yes, you read that right), a Harry Potter, a female Lil' Wayne, some Indians, some vampires and some obligatory blood soaked scary guys. And after 1.5 hours of make-up and liquid latex for Shaun and a teammate, I am happy to report that they both made the first little one cry when they walked into the party. Sadly, he continued to be scared of them the rest of the night so he stayed in a back room watching a movie, his loss. The food was amazing, a teammate cooked Caribbean food for all of us, and us Americans did what we do best... cookies, cupcakes and rice crispy treats. (FYI, I scratched the mini pumpkin pies since the pie crust I got puffed up to near beach ball size. I'll save them for Thanksgiving anyways). There were lots of laughs and memorable moments last night and fortunately for you, I took my camera, enjoy...

{Rice Crispy treats in the shape of pumpkins)

(Along with Shaun, I did Moussa's make-up. I'm bummed because this angle you can't see the skin hanging off the side. But at least he made a kid cry...and cry....and cry)

(Trevor aka Harry Potter and Bear the 'Devil Dog'. By the end of the night, Trevor had rubbed his lightening scar so it looked more like the remnants of Ash Wednesday than a scar)

(The Yangos' as Indians, too cute)

(Black Jesus, who at some point in the night was carrying a gun. He said, "when Black Jesus is in the hood, he needs to be strapped".)

(Female Lil' Wayne and I)

(Steve and Carine as sexy nurse and.. bloody surgeon?)

(Anthony as an Arabian guy...? But the best part was he was in charge of the music and someone asked him if he was allowed to play music like that in his country. He thought it was a stupid question but clearly he didn't get it since the question was addressed to Arabian Anthony not American Anthony)

(Shaun was thirsty)

(Ben and Stephanie as a priest and a 'naughty nun'.  At one point, Ben had one of the kids on his knee..too real Ben, too real).

(Notice Black Jesus blessing the priest)

(Thirsty again...)

( Bear was sick of his costume by the end of the night and turned it into a chew toy)

Happy Halloween!

Quick post to wish all a Happy Halloween. We have a costume party tonight and in usual fashion, I may have over extended myself. I've committed to making cookies, Rice Krispies balls, and mini pumpkin pies not too mention doing both make-up for myself and Shaun. And if that wasn't enough, we ran into a teammate yesterday at the costume store who I will also do his make-up (and possibly sew part of his costume up) and since his one request was, "I want to make at least 1 kid cry", I feel a little pressure. Although between me and you, he is 6-10 so just a lengthy stare will most likely send any kid screaming. The weather has cooled off and we found the biggest pumpkin we could at the store the other day (still smaller than a basketball) so it truly feels like Halloween here, now if I could only find some candy corn...

Villefranche sur Mer

{Villefrance sur Mer}

     After the storm we had last night (on and off the court...team is now 5-1), we saw that today it was going to be back to it's usual sunny self so we took advantage of it and headed to Villefranche sur Mer for the afternoon. Now let me clarify about this storm. Unlike the 'Frankenstorm' that is headed to the US and has been covered in the news non-stop, we had no warning. There was brutal wind, thunder, vicious lightening and torrential downpours pretty much all night which lead to power outages at the game, a leaky gym roof, and many umbrellas brought out of the closet only to be laid to rest shortly there after because they were no match for this tempete. (Funny story, one of Shaun's teammates ran into the gym all 6'5' of himself with a teeny weeny Strawberry Shortcake umbrella, guess that's all he could find at the last minute). So today with the sun shining, we drove the coastal route down the promenade des anglais in Nice over the hill to Villefranche sur Mer for lunch. We had heard of the area but it has always played second, third and even fouth fiddle to Nice, Cannes and Monaco, so we never made it a priority to visit., until today. First impression was that it was a blend of Cassis and Saint-Tropez with the restuarants on the harbor resembling Cassis and the vibrant colors identical to that of Saint- Tropez. We spent a few hours eating on the water and admiring the boats and the houses that sat on the cliffs above the sea and daydreaming of how awesome it would be to live in one of the villas only for Shaun to remind me that we are pretty lucky ourselves to be able to experience what we have experienced...touché Shaun, touché. However, if there was anything good that came of the storm last night, it was that it put me in more of a Fall/Autumn mindset so I was excited when we saw trees today with a little brown tinge to them, and not the bright green ones that we've become accustomed to. It was only until I took my sunglasses off later did I realize that the color of my lenses were severely altering the colors of the trees and they were in fact, the vibrant green color. And between me and you, I am pretty sure they were greener and they were giving me the finger too. However, as we got in the car to leave, I saw a tree that restored my faith in Fall and in Halloween too. So take that green trees!!

{Funny site of people on the promenade in Nice, those chairs do get some use}

{Sorbet colored church}

{Steep pathway to the sea}

{Hunk I found walking in the steep pathway to the sea}

{The entire facade of the church was Trompe l'oeil-ed}

{Our table for lunch, the water did rise one time over the wall but fortunately I had my purse on the back of the chair. Not fortunate was the lady behind us that had her purse on the ground, and even more unfortunate was her husband since I over heard her say she was in need of a new purse anyway, or an 'upgrade' as she put it}

{Our view at lunch}

{Can you see the brown tinge my glasses gave off..talk about teasing}

{Isn't this a 'spooky' tree? Kind of like a hand coming out of a grave reaching for your legs}

{Overlooking Nice harbor and the promenade}

{Sail boat coming into the Nice harbor}

Odds 'n Ends

Been a little quiet on the blog lately, so I figured I would let you in on a few odds 'n ends that have been going on these past few weeks. We've had lots of fun but not really took the time to document it so here goes...

{Sunset over Juan les Pins}

-A head cold/sickness has been going around. All of us wives got it at the same time but it has lingered for weeks. After a self-diagnosis of walking pneumonia, I spoke with the team doctor about my dizziness, weakness, coughing, difficulty breathing and overall crappy feeling to which he replied, 'that seems normal around this time'. Note to self...get a new doctor. (FYI, feeling better finally after 3 weeks.)

-Shaun's team is 5-0. Yep, 5-0... 2 more wins than he had all of last season. After their 4th win, Coach Weisz and Shaun had a giggle about that since they were together last year with that other club 'that shall not be named'.  (Well, actually they will most likely be named in the multiple lawsuits they are going to face, or so we hear.) On a side note, Coach Weisz left practice with silver hair and the next day it was a nicely uniformed dark brown...hmmmmm. Being the person I am, I asked him if he did something because something seemed different about him, he said 'nope'. Stick with it my man, stick with it.

{Photos by Romain Robini}

{You be the judge on the hair. Photo by Romain Ribini}

-On a late night out with the team, it was revealed what was said before the games in the team huddle. Apparently, Leslie (one of Shaun's teammates aptly nicknamed 'crazy') yells stuff, and by stuff, I mean anything. Words, sounds, noises, numbers etc....While I am sure it is funny when it actually happens, the re-enactment was 'piss your pants 'hilarious.

{A whole lot of gibberish going on. Yep, Romain Robini again}

-The '3 goggles' that bball players do when they hit a 3 pointer has been resurrected here since Shaun pulled it out on the road a few weeks ago. The only problem is that the players are not keeping their promises to do it after hitting a 3 ( I am talking to you Trevor) so us wives have to pick up the slack and do it from the stands...and sometimes from even further... like California.

-It has cooled off a bit here. Still warm enough to be at the beach during the day but now a light jacket is needed at night. So because of that, we asked the team to help us with our heater since neither I nor Shaun could figure it out. Fast forward a week (that is fast in French times) and the team sends a 'guy' over to help us. Now this 'guy' is the jack of all trades 'guy' for the team. He does the laundry, drives the players around when needed, is the towel/water guy during the game and apparently, a handy man to boot, or not. After 10 minutes of huffing, puffing and pushing buttons he left us with no heat and no hot water mumbling something that there was a problem with the water heater. To me, the only problem may have been the multiple valve twisting and button pushing he did since we had no issues with the water before he left. However, seeing their erroneous ways, the team sent someone ( a professional) over asap that informed me that the water valve and gas had been shut off in our 'guys' attempt to help us.

-We have been religious with our salsa lessons and have improved, majorly. Each lesson, we become more and more comfortable and I am happy to say I am no longer threatened to be in the front of the class. Shaun, on the other hand, is happy to stay in the back ever since the 'clap heard around the world'. (Before and after each class we warm up/cool down with some dancing steps and a few timely claps. Well, Shaun must have been a little off because his clap came a good second after the entire class and it was the loudest clap known to man. Not kidding, it was so loud it startled everyone. Since then, it has become a running joke....and Shaun has hovered around the back).

-On the last road trip, I dog-sitted for a teammate. Bear is a Jack Russell (questionable.... since he is pretty large) but unbelievably well behaved and a breeze to watch. We took long walks on the beach, enjoyed the sunset and overall, just hung out. Kind of what I do with Shaun come to think of it.

{Ahhhh...to be a dog}

-There has been a fight going on in my head with the desire to do fall-y things, eat comfort foods and embrace the start of the holidays with the fact that it is still summer weather here. I have taken my apple bread recipe out of the box the last 2 trips to the grocery store only to nix the idea and wait until next time. I've compromised by making lots of cookies and finally using up those baguette ends by making breadcrumbs in anticipation for frying things. But I'm telling you, I am pulling out the pumpkin recipes around Halloween whether it's hot or not!!

{We will have breadcrumbs for months!!!}

-I've started to get back into running. I am all over the map with it though.  I will run 4/5 miles a day for 8 days straight then not run for a few weeks after that. I am sure it humors Shaun. What was not humorous was the fall I took a few weeks ago running on the boardwalk all by myself. I ended up with a skinned elbow, cracked Iphone and a severely bruised ego. Since then, I have made sure not to run too close to the street for fear of another graceful fall followed by being run over. It seems like it is only going to get better since my mom has informed me that she has fallen un-provoked a few times these last few weeks. And I am not talking the type of fall that just happens. I am talking about those violent falls that make onlookers cringe, then laugh.

-We saw this guy at the beach. No explanation needed. He clearly hasn't heard....crack kills.